About 10 percent of the patrons at Morgan Hill Library don’t
reside in the city limits and because of dwindling funding at the
county level, those visitors are being asked to pay $80 a year for
a county library card.
About 10 percent of the patrons at Morgan Hill Library don’t reside in the city limits and because of dwindling funding at the county level, those visitors are being asked to pay $80 a year for a county library card.
The new rule started July 1 and since then Morgan Hill librarian Peggy Tomasso said they have seen mixed reactions from their visitors. “Some purchase the card right then, others leave and want to think about it and some say they simply can’t afford the cost right now,” Tomasso said.
To be eligible for a free county library card, visitors must reside in one of the nine cities that belong to Santa Clara County Library District Joint Powers Authority: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga or in the unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County. Those living in the cities of Los Gatos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale will continue to have access to their own city libraries at no cost to them.
In May 2011, the Morgan Hill Library saw 24,701 patrons over 21 days of service or about 1,176 patrons per day with about 3,269 items checked out each day. At county libraries, patrons can check out up to 100 items.
Since 1988, the state has reimbursed public libraries for lending materials to nonresidents of their district. But the demands for service have increased to a point that the Santa Clara County Library District lends far more books to nondistrict residents than district residents borrow from other libraries.
